. . . So I walked among the willows very quietly all night;
There was no moon at all, at all; no timid star alight;
There was no light at all, at all; I wint from tree to tree,
And I called him as his mother called, but he nivver answered me.
Oh I called him all the night-time, as I walked the wood alone;
And I listened and I listened, but I nivver heard a moan;
Then I found him at the dawnin’, when the sorry sky was red:
I was lookin’ for the livin’, but I only found the dead.
Sure I know that it was Shamus by the silver cross he wore;
But the bugles they were callin’, and I heard the cannon roar.
Oh I had no time to tarry, so I said a little prayer,
And I clasped his hands together, and I left him lyin’ there.
Now the birds are singin’, singin’, and I’m home in Donegal,
And it’s Springtime, and I’m thinkin’ that I only dreamed it all;
I dreamed about that evil wood, all crowded with its dead,
Where I knelt beside me brother when the battle-dawn was red.
Where I prayed beside me brother ere I wint to fight anew:
Such dreams as these are evil dreams; I can’t believe it’s true.
Where all is love and laughter, sure it’s hard to think of loss . . .
But mother’s sayin’ nothin’, and she clasps — a silver cross.
(Robert William Service)
More Poetry from Robert William Service:
Robert William Service Poems based on Topics: Night, Dreams, Light, Time, Nature, Laughter, Silver, Prayers, Birds- Fighting Mac (Robert William Service Poems)
- If You Had The Choice Of Two Women To Wed (Robert William Service Poems)
- (The sunshine seeks my little room) (Robert William Service Poems)
- Madam La Maquise (Robert William Service Poems)
- The Mourners (Robert William Service Poems)
- Seville (Robert William Service Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Light Poems, Time Poems, Nature Poems, Dreams Poems, Birds Poems, Prayers Poems, Laughter Poems, Silver PoemsBased on Keywords: lyin, sayin, wint, night-time, nivver, singin, callin, lookin, donegal, dawnin, shamus
- The Vision Of Piers Plowman - Part 14 (William Langland Poems)
- Trivia ; or, the Art of Walking the Streets of London : Book III (John Gay Poems)
- Hermann And Dorothea - IX. Urania (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
- Christ's Triumph after Death : Canto IV. Christ's Victory and Triumph (Giles Fletcher Jr Poems)
- America Remembers (Paul Engle Poems)